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Murder stirs worries for online buying

The details of a grisly murder case have brought new attention to buying and selling online.

And, according to a local user, police and a university professor, it drives home the message of “buyer beware.”

Tim Bosma, a 32-year-old from Ancaster, Ont., was reported missing after taking two men for a test drive in his pickup truck. The vehicle was advertised on Kijiji, an online classifieds website.

His burned remains were found in Waterloo on Tuesday afternoon.

However, Kijiji countered that the ad on its site had no link to the death, releasing a statement the day before, stating that “the ad posted by Mr. Bosma on Kijiji did not feature personal contact information, nor did it receive any replies, which determines the incident did not occur as result of his ad posting on Kijiji.”

The website provides a service that allows a buyer to contact a seller using a proxy email, ensuring that personal information is not published on the site.

But that is little comfort to some people.

Kingston’s Michelle Lyons, who uses Kijiji to buy and sell items three to four times a week, said circumstances surrounding the Bosma murder “scare her deeply.”

“It put a really bad feeling to anybody who wants to do better for themselves and sell stuff for themselves,” she said.

Before Kijiji, Lyons, whose husband is looking to sell his own vehicle online, said she would typically donate items to thrift stores like Value Village. Now, she uses the site to make extra money and advertise her decluttering business.

Still, she makes sure to go about it with caution by telling her husband where she’s going or bringing a friend with her.

“I’ve always had a safety net,” she said.

If her husband’s worried about her safety, though, Lyons said she won’t go through with a sale.

“I don’t need anything badly enough that I would make myself or him worried,” she said.

Despite that, Lyons said she’s found great success on Kijiji. The Kingston branch of the website has more than 32,000 posts in the “Buy and Sell” category alone.

Overall, the track record of the site over the years has primarily been positive.

“It’s a bit safer than putting up your ad on every telephone post in the neighbourhood,” said Queen’s University professor Thomas Dean.

Dean, who teaches in the department of electrical and computer engineering, said it’s not always the sellers who should be concerned.

“I see a lot of nervousness, probably more with the buyer’s side,” he said, adding that buyers face issues with shipping, security, and buying a product without seeing it firsthand.

Buyers are urged to use additional safety measures when buying an item from an online seller, said Kingston Police Const. Steve Koopman.

“You want to set up some safety measures by telling someone where you’re going to be,” he said.

Koopman said he uses Glympse, a phone app that sends his location to a trusted friend or family member, in case of an emergency.

He also recommends meeting in a public place, making sure there’s a third party present, and doing background research on the seller — an option for buyers on eBay who can view a “seller’s rating.”

“You need to do due diligence. Some people literally put their blinders on and it’s blind faith that this is going to be a good transaction,” he said. “Your safety should be paramount over a sale.”

Koopman said he doesn’t foresee a decrease in user traffic on sites such as Kijiji.

“You always talk about the negatives more than the positives,” he said. “It is convenient for a lot of people.”